Corkbuzz Wine Studio

The scoop: Corkbuzz is conveniently located around the corner from Union Square, making it an easily accessible destination. Corkbuzz goes beyond your expectations of your typical wine bar — there’s more than just cheese and wine here. They have a fantastic food menu that will impress your palate. They also have hard-to-find wines.

When entering the restaurant, we walked into their lounge and bar area, and in the back there were communal tables and additional high-top tables. For brunch, the atmosphere is great. It’s busy but not too loud or too crowded. You can easily enjoy your conversations.

We chose to have brunch on Marathon Sunday since they were showing the marathon on a large screen in the back area. It made for a nice viewing experience. They did squeeze a little too many of us in the communal table, as I don’t think they were expecting such a good turnout. The staff and servers were pretty friendly.

Chew on this:

Pork Belly Eggs Benedict $15 / With potato hash or salad

You guessed it. The Pork Belly Eggs Benedict is exactly what it sounds like; an eggs Benedict with the ham replaced by delicious pork belly. The pork was tender and shredded easily with each bite. I was surprised that a typical English muffin was used instead of something a little more exotic. The eggs were delicately cooked to perfection. The side of potatoes hash was more representative of diced potatoes, not hash.

I am not sure what makes this “French” omelette as opposed to a regular omelette. While it was good, it was average overall, nothing super amazing. If you typically order omelettes as a safety dish, I would recommend going out of your comfort zone, as Corkbuzz has some great, unique dishes.

Short Rib Hash $15 / Sunny-side-up eggs, scallions, jalapeño aioli

This was definitely one of the more interesting dishes. It was unexpectedly layered and full of flavor from the pork and jalapeno aioli. The bottom layer contained a decent amount of shredded pork. On top of that was a layer of thinly sliced potatoes and two sunny-side-up eggs. The sauce was lightly drizzled over everything. The mixture went so well together, and each bite became more delicious. I would recommend this dish.

Lamb Shashuka $15 / Chickpeas, poached eggs, green harissa

Traditionally an Israeli dish, shashuka is a delicious mixture of simple ingredients packed full of flavor. Corkbuzz did prepare their version a little different. The dish was not served in a skillet/clay pot and the eggs were poached rather than overeasy. But I loved their harissa sauce, which gave the dish a little spice. The lamb was nicely prepared, and there was a decent amount of it. I would also recommend this dish.

The final bite: Corkbuzz Wine Studio shouldn’t be overlooked for brunch. They have a great wine bar atmosphere that translates well during the day. It’s also a great place to catch up with friends because it’s not too loud or crowded. Their menu contains unique brunch dishes and hard-to-find wines. I would like to go back and explore more.